Pages

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Pooing Myself

The nervous energy that sits in the pit of your stomach, the stuff that makes you pace around because you can't think of anything better to do with yourself, the buzzing in your head that stops you from concentrating on anything other than the huge mountainous challenge you've set yourself.

This is what I've been missing.

Breaking out of my comfort zone

I've had a blast taking part in races at every opportunity given. Road runs, trail races, triathlon, duathlons, aquathlons, swims, obstacle races...I love the atmosphere, the company and the sense of occasion. But, with the odd exception, none of the events I've done really scared me. There was no point during training or a race where I thought I couldn't finish. I've felt challenged, yes, tired and sore but I'm still walking the edge of my comfort zone.

There's only a certain number of times a sane person can aim for a PB and now I've discovered the mud and hills of trail running, time is becoming irrelevant. My strength and stamina seem to be improving without truly trying, I think it's time to test what this body can do if I give it a bit of a push. I need to scare myself a bit because, and Liz Goodchild explains this far more eloquently, if you stay within your comfort zone, you'll never move forward and evolve.

My training is going to involve lots of these

In the same way that cartoon characters have to pinch themselves to see if they're awake, a proper scaring will only surely only make you feel more alive. So I'm planning some big events that are making me sweat before I've even started moving...

BADGER HALF MARATHON13th July
My first trail race was tough. I loved it but it was hard. This event is over twice as far and probably just as steep. I'm hoping the promised beautiful views and finishers' beer will keep me going.ADIDAS THUNDER RUN26-27th July
I've never run further than 21k in a day but this 24hour relay race will see me and my seven teammates potentially rack up over 30k each. Lack of sleep and lack of light (during the night hours) are sure to make each lap increasingly tough.

BERGHAUS TRAIL CHASE16-17th August
A multi-day trail race in the Yorkshire hills with a beginner distance? Perfect, sign me up for the intermediate! The red course of the Trail Chase will see me run just short of a marathon over the two days. The route hasn't been announced yet, all I know is, there'll be hills. Lots of them.

OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON2014
I've not booked my longest ever triathlon yet but after all the running, I'd quite like to see how much I can also push my swimming and cycling. My first open water swim event was the first race that put fear in the pit of my stomach but it was one of the races I enjoyed the most. Perhaps a bigger challenge will bring a bigger high?

CYCLE FROM LONDON TO PARIS2015
I have history with the bike. We don't quite get along, so I ignore the two-wheeled beast. But with this mammoth of a 280-something mile challenge looming, whether I actually make it to Paris or not, I'll at least be forced to try and build a relationship with my bike, purely out of fear!